Calm English [STILL] - Every Part of You

ENWelcome to Your English Toolbox.

ENThis is Calm English... and today, something new begins.

ENA series called STILL.

ENI am Peter.

ENAnd before anything else — one small request.

ENPlease do not listen to this episode while driving.

ENThis episode is for a quiet moment.

ENA closed door.

ENHeadphones, if you have them.

ENToday's lesson has eight words.

ENOnly eight.

ENBut I need you to do something unusual before we begin.

ENI need you to lie down.

ENYes.

ENRight now.

ENThis is not a metaphor.

ENA bed.

ENA sofa.

ENA carpet.

ENA yoga mat.

ENAnywhere your body can rest completely.

ENIf you can only sit, that is fine too.

ENSit back.

ENLet the chair hold you.

ENI will wait.

ENHere is why.

ENYou live in English every single day.

ENYou think.

ENYou translate.

ENYou perform.

ENAll of it happens in your head.

ENBut you are not just a head.

ENThere is a whole person under that busy mind.

ENToday, English is going to meet that person.

ENLet's begin.

ENClose your eyes.

ENFeel the surface underneath you.

ENIt is holding your whole weight.

ENYou do not have to hold anything.

ENNow, take a slow breath in through your nose.

ENAnd let it out... slowly.

ENOne more time.

ENIn.

ENAnd out.

ENGood.

ENThere is nothing to do for the next twenty minutes.

ENNothing to answer.

ENNothing to get right.

ENIf your mind wanders, that is normal.

ENJust come back to my voice.

ENIt will be here.

ENNow — the eight words.

ENYou will not memorize them.

ENYou will feel each one.

ENFirst the feeling.

ENThen the word.

ENThat is the whole method.

ENWe start at the top.

ENBring your attention to the space between your eyebrows.

ENRight there.

ENThat small area of skin.

ENIs it tense?

ENIs it pressed together?

ENYou don't need to answer.

ENJust notice.

ENNow, very gently...

ENSOFTEN it.

ENLet the skin spread.

ENLet it go smooth.

ENThis whole area — from your eyebrows to your hairline —

ENin English, we call it the FOREHEAD.

ENThe forehead.

ENYou just felt your forehead soften.

ENNow you have the word for it too.

ENStay close.

ENBecause just below the forehead... there is a place with no name in most textbooks.

ENThe space behind your eyes.

ENThis is where most of us live.

ENReading.

ENWatching.

ENWorrying.

ENHour after hour... behind the eyes.

ENLet that space go QUIET.

ENLet your eyes rest... heavy and still.

ENSay it slowly in your mind: the space behind my eyes.

ENSix small words.

ENAnd now they belong to you.

ENNow — the jaw.

ENThe jaw is where most people carry tension without knowing it.

ENFeel your jaw right now.

ENIs it tight?

ENAre your teeth pressed together?

ENJust notice.

ENNow — very gently — let it GO.

ENNot forced.

ENNot pushed.

ENJust... allowed.

ENLet your teeth separate, just a little.

ENFeel how the whole face changes.

ENIn English, we say: JAW.

ENThe jaw.

ENYou just felt your jaw.

ENNow you have the word for it too.

ENTravel down now.

ENDown the neck... to two thin bones just under your throat.

ENTouch them with your attention.

ENOne on the left.

ENOne on the right.

ENThese are your COLLARBONES.

ENThe collarbone.

ENYour shoulders hang from these two bones.

ENAnd your shoulders... have been working all day.

ENSo let them DROP.

ENFeel the collarbones get wide... and heavy.

ENThere is nothing to hold up right now.

ENNow, go behind you.

ENTo your back.

ENThere are two flat bones there... one behind each shoulder.

ENIn English: the SHOULDER BLADES.

ENShoulder blade.

ENFeel them touching the surface beneath you.

ENTwo flat bones... resting.

ENLet them SINK.

ENAs if the bed... or the floor... were slowly accepting them.

ENDeeper with every breath out.

ENCome to the front now.

ENTo the centre of your chest.

ENThere is one long bone right in the middle.

ENThe STERNUM.

ENThe sternum.

ENPlace your attention there... like a warm hand.

ENAnd simply watch it move.

ENIt rises when you breathe in.

ENIt falls when you breathe out.

ENRising... and falling.

ENIt has been doing this your whole life.

ENIn every country you have ever lived in.

ENNow, slowly... move down.

ENTo the lower part of your back.

ENIn English: the LOWER BACK.

ENThe lower back.

ENThis is the part of you that carries the most.

ENThe bags.

ENThe long days.

ENThe standing.

ENThe waiting.

ENAnd the other weight too.

ENThe one nobody sees.

ENA life in two languages.

ENSo today — wherever you are —

ENgive your lower back a moment of complete rest.

ENLet it soften into the surface.

ENIt does not have to carry anything right now.

ENNot even English.

ENAnd finally... travel all the way down.

ENPast your legs.

ENTo the bottom of your feet.

ENThe flat part that touches the ground when you walk.

ENIn English, this has a beautiful name.

ENThe SOLE of the foot.

ENThe sole.

ENFeel the soles of your feet right now.

ENMaybe they feel warm.

ENMaybe heavy.

ENMaybe far away.

ENThese are the parts of you that meet the ground... every single day.

ENIn the old country.

ENIn the new country.

ENThe ground is always there.

ENAnd so are you.

ENNow... let your attention open.

ENFrom the forehead... all the way down... to the soles of your feet.

ENEvery part of you.

ENResting at the same time.

ENStay here for a moment.

ENThere is nowhere to go.

ENIn a moment — not yet — we will come back.

ENStart with something small.

ENMove your fingers... slowly.

ENMove your toes.

ENFeel the room around you again.

ENWhenever you are ready.

EN— There is no rush.

EN— The words will be there when you come back.

ENAnd when your eyes open... stay where you are for one last minute.

ENWe have one thing left to do.

ENThe eight words.

ENListen... and feel each one, one last time.

ENForehead.

ENThe space behind your eyes.

ENJaw.

ENCollarbone.

ENShoulder blade.

ENSternum.

ENLower back.

ENThe sole of the foot.

ENYou did not study these words.

ENYou lived them.

ENAnd what the body learns... the mind does not forget.

ENCome back to this episode whenever you need it.

ENIt will work every time.

ENThis was Calm English...

ENSTILL.

ENI am Peter.

ENAnd you... are more than a busy mind learning a language.

ENYou are every part of you.

ENThank you for resting with me today.

ENGoodbye, friends.